


Le Parfum de Fleurs

by noratable (noiitamina)



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Animal Keeper Lance, Chef Hunk, Friends to Lovers, Gardener Keith, Librarian Pidge, M/M, Pining, Prince Shiro, Slow-ish burn, Suggestive Themes, attempt at fluff, royal gardener au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-22
Updated: 2017-06-22
Packaged: 2018-11-17 05:39:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,073
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11269050
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/noiitamina/pseuds/noratable
Summary: Keith's worked on the Altean Kingdom's grounds for as long as he can remember. He's the best at what he does and knows almost every plant that grows in his garden. Prince Shiro, however, does not. Though it doesn't stop him from trying to send his messages to Keith through the language of flowers- with a little help of course.





	Le Parfum de Fleurs

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Anonoux](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anonoux/gifts).



> This is incredibly late, and I apologize to my giftee for that. This au grew WAY bigger than I intended, and several other projects started to crop up when this should've been done already. I have a second, longer part on the way though, since it was too much to get all of it done with my schedule already. I hope you enjoy! I took the prompt and the flowers they gave me to use (well, two of them at least) to create the first part. Thank you so much for waiting so long. **This is beta'd by my friend Robert, who put up with my antics (luv u)

Keith started his mornings early; it was part of the job.

He woke up before dawn broke the sky in the East and ended the day long after the sun set. Keith rolled over, the sheets tangling in between his legs. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, he glanced over at the small window across the room, seeing that the distant sky was a solid purple. Then turning his eyes to the neighboring bed, he could see Lance still deep asleep. 

The animal keeper was a bit of a beauty queen despite the less than glamorous job he had, wearing a pair of eye covers and a homemade face mask. Even with their differences, they lived together in the servant’s quarters. When they were first placed in the same room, they both went to Princess Allura to complain- not wanting to bother her father for such an issue. 

In the end, Allura was even more firm on the decision of keeping them together. Firstly, for their constant arguing over nothing. They could hold their own competitions in their room as long as it wasn’t at night. Secondly, they reeked- every day Lance came inside smelling like animals and Keith smelling like dirt. Being together for most of their lives, Keith knew more about Lance’s living cycles than he ever wanted to, but it likely the same for Lance.  

Keith pulled one leg from the bed to land flat on the cold floor, then the other to meet it, the cold floor helping to wake him up. Stretching his arms far above his head, Keith heard his spine popping, then pushed the sheets up onto the bed and moved his toes across the tiles.

After he finally dragged himself up from the mattress, the gardener made his way over to his wardrobe. The cabinet held everything he possibly wore, albeit most of it worn and holding a few stains that were impossible to wash out completely. Keith pulled on a loose t-shirt and dark brown overalls, then finished with tugging on a pair of well-worn garden boots over his socks. 

The gloves he wore were in the greenhouse, waiting for him on a bench near the door. Once he gets there, he watered the plants that needed moisture before the day’s heat got to them. Next was gathering any fruits or veggies that were ripe for picking. The morning dew shining like beads of light on the outsides. With his one -or occasionally two- baskets of the yield, he’d haul back through the pantry to the kitchen for the chef. 

Hunk, who just happened to be the head chef, was the only other person who woke up earlier than him. With the duties of making lunches for the staff and the meals for the royal family and other high-ranking officials, he was always in motion. He was already in the kitchen for the day, cleaning up his workstations for use.

“Morning, Hunk.” Keith’s walk to the gardens and greenhouse took him through the kitchen. Most of the servant’s quarters were located near the kitchen, making it easier to pick up their lunch from the chef.

“G’morning Keith, do you think you’ll come in to eat lunch today?”

“Nope,” as he said this, he dropped the baskets he carried full of the morning harvest onto a bench behind the chef. “I have to get ready for the summer; take out any weeds that look like they’re coming in, check on the summer crops, and pick anything new I can plant for the fall.”

Hunk chuckled, turning around to hand Keith his own sack lunch and plucking (an apple) from the basket to inspect. “Sounds like you’ve got plans. Ever think about asking for more space?”

“They’ve already given me so much; I’m grateful for it, but I’m only one person.” Taking the sack from Hunk’s hand he propped the door to the pantry open with his foot, then turned back to face the chef once more. “I will be in for dinner though. If I can get out to the further gardens today you can expect another batch of crops. Could I...get a slice of strawberry cake in exchange?”

Waving a hand behind his shoulder at Keith, Hunk let soft chuckle slip out. “I’ll give you a slice for sure if you can make the run without wearing yourself out. See you tonight.”

* * *

Shiro walked down the hall with determination, trying not to let a smile crack his face in half. He was going to figure out how to ask the gardener, Keith, out. Passing by attendants with their own duties, he greeted them all with hearty good mornings. 

Though no one else but him knew that plan. Despite it being called a plan...Shiro didn’t have an  _ exact  _ way of going about asking Keith for a date. That’s why he was going to Pidge, the royal librarian and close friend to Keith. 

It should go smoothly enough, he hopes. As long as Allura isn’t there. Not to be rude to the Altean princess, but her advice wasn’t very...good, to be honest. Shiro had taken anything Allura had said as fact when they were younger. Thankfully he’s wised up, and most of the things Allura told him were bunk; but they didn’t know that at the time.

That wasn’t code for Allura getting  _ better  _ at it. She did have some incredible ones- just romance and flirting were extremely weak points. Though the princess didn’t realize that.

Finally stopping in front of the library doors, Shiro pushed open the imposing doors to reveal the inside of the room. The royal Altean library wasn’t dark and musty like Shiro would’ve assumed, but bright with natural sunlight. Large arch windows let sunlight pour through the floating dust motes, the rest of the wallspace covered in paintings and texts. Right above the main desk was the stained glass if a mural of the Altean crest. 

Letting the doors close softly behind him, Shiro stepped towards Pidge’s desk in the middle with rekindled determination. Only to stop himself short when he saw who Pidge was currently talking to.

_ ‘Oh no, why now.’ _

The conversation slowed to a stop as Allura turned to face him and Pidge pulled her gaze up to meet his eyes. 

“Shiro! What brings you here?” Allura turned with a clatter, the blade at her side slapping against the armor on her thigh. Smiling, Shiro came to stand next to her. “I should be asking you the same thing.”

“I just finished up training with the Guardian and wanted to stop by.” Allura matched her smile with his own, punching the prince in the shoulder (he’s positive it’ll be sore later). “Now you tell us why  _ you’re  _ here.”

Coming to terms with the situation, Shiro started flexing the fingers on his normal hand, joints popping. It was something he did when he got nervous, he recognizes that. Though he can’t remember if he had it before he apparently went missing for a year.

“I...wanted some advice...flirtation advice, to be exact.”

Allura squealed in delight, Pidge wincing from the pitch next to her. “Oh, Shiro! Who’s the special one you have your eye on? Are they here in the castle? Or from one of your excursions with father?”

“They’re here in the castle...he actually works here.”

Allura leaned further in her seat, the loose hairs in bun coming to hang in her face as she hung on every word. The books scattered around the floor suddenly looked quite interesting to the prince, eyes scanning every title he could find.  _ ‘The Morals of a Honest Paladin, Extensive Research of Balmeran Crystals and their Unique Properties, Recipes that’ll Flatter Any Guests You Have Over For Dinner-’ _

“Well? Shiro come on I can’t help you if you can’t tell me any more than that.” Pidge sat with her ankles crossed, crossing her arms to match as well. She wasn’t one to dance around things so Shiro’s reluctance to say anything more was grating.

“It’s Keith, okay? I wanted to know if there was anything I could find on...courting…” Shiro could feel his face burn right to the tips of his ears. He could tell Allura was refraining from bursting out in excitement, her body shaking and armor rattling from the vibrations.

“You guys would make the  _ cutest _ couple! Oh just imagining you two together is causing me to melt.” 

Shiro could’ve melted into the floor right that second.

Pidge did smirk at the scene before her, probably thinking the scene in front of her was rather cute. “If you give me a few minutes, I think I can pull a few references out for you that-”

“This is easy,  _ I  _ could help him out with this Pidge.” Allura pushed herself off of the desk, coming to stand in front of Shiro. Snatching a book from the top of a precariously close to falling tower of texts. 

“So, here’s what you should do. Keith is minding his own business in the garden- probably pulling weeds and planting saplings. You’re going to get your hands on a flower.” At this point Allura shoved the book in her hand into his, the sudden jab causing Shiro to back up a step. “You walk up to him and ask ‘Hello Keith, would you mind telling me what the name of this  _ beautiful  _ flower is?’ You’re gonna act nonchalant, but also be confident.”

Shiro listened to her quietly, nodding along to what she said. However, he’s sure that this wasn’t happening.

Allura took the book out of his hands again, which were loosely wrapped around the text in the first place. “Keith will turn around and say ‘Oh! Prince Shiro, that’s a…’” Allura trailed off in thought, probably trying think of a good flower before shrugging her shoulders and continuing. “We’ll come back to that later. Anyway, it’s a flower! So, you respond ‘this flower is a part of Mother Nature’s art! However, Mother Nature could never replicate the charm that you behold.’”

With the final statement, she held a hand to her chin in an, admittedly, rather cheesy pose. The other hand holding the book stretched out towards Shiro- as if he was Keith in this situation. Standing stock still with arms down at his sides, Shiro wasn’t sure how to respond. 

“Oh my  _ God,  _ that was bad.” Pidge never spoke truer words in that moment. “Did you get that from Lance?  _ Are  _ you actually Lance?”

Taking the paperback in both of her hands to hold against her chest, Allura scoffed at the comment, acting scandalized. “No! I couldn’t beat his pick-up lines in their awful nature...could I?” Leaving the question unanswered, Shiro went to clutch the book in his own hands and gently pry it from the princess’ fingers.

“I appreciate the advice Allura, truly I do.” The prince paused, as if to consider how to say what he wanted to in a polite manner. “I’ll um...come up for a flower that sounds good for this.”

“Oh Shiro! I knew you would appreciate my advice. Now, I have to go see father; we’re meeting with new diplomats from Olkarion later!” Seemingly thrilled that Shiro was taking her advice for once, Allura left the library with a skip in her step. Pidge and Shiro could hear her footsteps clapping down the hall, waiting for the echoes to fade away before speaking.

“You’re not actually using that line with Keith,  _ are you _ ?” 

“Absolutely not. Can you help me find a flower that’ll sound good?” 

Pidge sprung from her perch to the floor, walking off further into the library, voice carrying over the shelves. “I can’t guarantee that what I find might work, but I’ll see what I can do.” 

* * *

“Sooo...the Juniberry festival is coming up in a few weeks. Are you going with anyone?”

“If you’re asking me out it’s a no.”

Keith could hear Lance sputtering behind him. “I wasn’t asking you! I’m already going with Hunk anyway!”

Keith paused in his digging to peer over his shoulder to see Lance leaning against a wheelbarrow holding mounds of fresh mulch, picking up a piece of dirt to crush in between his fingers.

“I already know you’ll be ‘one with nature’ the entire time in the garden anyway, jumpin’ around like a little woodland fairy.” Lance mumbled it under his breath, raising the pitch of his voice at the end with his thought. He chuckled at the thought of Keith skipping around in the garden, singing and spinning around; just like the princesses in the fairytales they’ve always been told. Until Keith made sure the next shovel full of dirt was bound to land on the animal keeper.

“Heh-HEY! You almost caked me with manure, Mullet!”

“Don’t you have animal shit to go shovel yourself?” Keith inquired. He could almost feel Lance pouting, caught avoiding his responsibilities yet again.

Said gardner was sticking halfway out of a hole, back bent over digging for a new tree to be planted.

“Hunk made me a batch of cookies last night. Is he trying to say something? I think I should give something in return. Would flowers be appropriate? We’re meeting again tonight but I don’t wanna-”

“Lance,” Keith grunted loudly from the hole, “this all sounds fucking great, but can you talk about this more, when I’m not sticking halfway out of a hole, and pass me the goddamn-”

“What did he need to do?” A voice that definitely wasn’t Lance’s chimed in suddenly.

Stretching his arms behind him to grab onto the dirt ledge, Keith pulled himself up out of the hole only to see the the crown prince standing next to him. Offered him with a hand sticking out ready to help Keith up. Wiping the leftover dirt on the grass, Keith let Prince Shiro take the cleaned hand.

The gardener didn’t even hear the approach, let alone Lance slipping off to leave Keith talking alone. It must’ve happened as soon as the prince came up to them. Keith could imagine the whole thing- Lance seeing the prince walk up to him, quietly asking Lance to dismiss himself so he could talk to the gardener alone. 

“Y-Your highness! I-ah-Is there anything I can help you with?”

Keith couldn’t help but silently scream at his slip up, horrified that he let the prince hear him speak like that. He hoped that the terror didn’t show on his face, but Shiro continued on like the moment didn’t happen mere seconds ago. Though Keith noticed that the prince kept his other hand tucked away from view.

“Ah, yes. I wanted to know...do you know the meaning of this flower?”

Along with the question, Shiro pulled his arm from behind his back, revealing a flower Keith’s never seen planted in the garden before. Pale purple petals spread out from the center, spreading upwards then tilting down in it’s blossom.

“It’s an Iris.” Keith plucked the flower out from between Shiro’s fingers gently, bringing it close to his face and twirling it around to see it all around. “The meaning is usually that you want to send someone a message.” Pulling it away again, the gardener turned to eye Shiro, still standing nearby. “Did you get this from an excursion with King Alfor outside the castle? I don’t have any batches planted here in the castle gardens.”

“Yes; I actually asked to go out on this one. It’s quite the beautiful flower.” Shiro still stood a distance away, acting indifferent as Keith cradled the flower in his hand.

“Did you have any idea on what to do with it? I have a feeling you already knew the meaning of it before going out and finding it.”

“I partially knew the meaning going out to get it. But now that you’ve confirmed it, I hope the person I gave it to will understand what I’m trying to say.” The prince finished.

“But your highness, you gave it to- me...” Shiro had already left the garden, leaving just as quietly as he entered. Thus making Keith flush red up to his ears as he held the blossom in his hand.

The last thing he wanted was for Lance to come back and see him like this.

He better go and get a flowerpot for it.

* * *

“Pidge! I need to see you!”

Shiro barreled into the library doors, pushing the big oaken wood wide. The space where Pidge usually occupied was seemingly empty, books scattered around in always changing piles. Nothing looked to be disturbed for some time. Walking further into the threshold, Shiro glanced around at the endless shelves spreading themselves out from the center like a bloom.

“Shiro? What do you need?”

Pidge was perched up on one of the many ladders lining the shelves of the library. Wrapping the book she held in her arm, the librarian slid down the ladder with expertise to meet Shiro on the floor.

"It's...ah," The prince could only dwindle off in the sudden thought that it's a little ridiculous to be worrying about such a minimal issue. It had only been a few weeks since he gave the flower to the royal gardener. However it only took Pidge a few seconds to realize what he was asking about. "Is this about your attempt at flirting?"

Shiro could leave it to Pidge to figure it out so fast.

"I was wondering if he's had anything to say? I haven't seen him much for the past few months, and you usually talk to him.”

Pidge cut her eyes over to him, adjusting the glasses resting on the bridge of her nose. “I’ve talked to Keith lately, what did you want to know?” 

Shiro found a stool buried by other books previously taken down but never replaced, taking the novels and putting them on the floor. Sitting down where the literature had sat, Shiro was only opening his mouth when Pidge gave him everything he needed to know.

“You haven’t seen him at all since you gave him the flower, so you’re worried if he returns your feelings.” She stated flatly. With the book from the shelf in her arm, she browsed around the other piles before adding one or another to the heap in her arm.

“...Yes,” Shiro mumbled. There really was nothing to it; only a lack of brazenness to get the answers himself and take the rejection. 

“All I can say is that you go and see the northeastern courtyard for yourself,” Pidge finished this with a grunt as she placed the books on the counter of her desk, only to curse a second later as they tipped over onto the floor on the opposite side. “You two are horrid when it comes to figuring out your feelings.” The librarian mumbled this last part under her breath, but Shiro heard it well enough that he should take the hint and be on his way.

* * *

Measuring his steps down to the garden, Shiro could feel his worries growing. He probably came off as obnoxious with his sudden disappearance; Keith must’ve forgotten about the flower entirely. The gardener had something planned that would make Shiro regret even  _ thinking _ the subtle flirting was a good idea.

Pacing down from the final stair, Shiro pushed open the door in front of him that led to the pavilion that wrapped around a piece of the garden. The field was never completely quiet; the buzzing of insects and wind blowing through the wind chimes in various places. 

To say he felt ridiculous was an understatement.

Shiro could admit he was anxious; though he’s sure if someone were to approach him now he’d leap and turn tail. Nevertheless, the prince curled his fists in and entered the greenspace, movements more stiff than if he were wearing armor. 

Walking deeper into the garden patch, he followed the path made of cut grass that dictated exactly where he was to step. The sun warmed at the back of his neck, and heated his body even more through the unpleasant clothing he had to wear. He probably wouldn't see Keith easily through the rows of greenery; the gardener spent most of the day on his hands and knees. Pulling and tugging, grunting at the effort...

'That could be interpreted in so many other ways,' Shiro thought, glad that he didn't just blurt it out loud. He actually had to pause and scrub his face at the ridiculous thoughts. Wandering some more, the prince finally came upon where Keith most likely worked last. Only to freeze at seeing the patch of Irises that weren’t there before. The purple patch stuck out against the green shrubbery around it, the only flowers in bloom in its current vicinity. 

"Your highness," someone spoke behind him. Shiro could recognize the voice from various other times he was spying on the gardener, going stock still at hearing it again.

Turning around to face the speaker, the prince came face to face with a batch of flowers in his face. Kneeling down in front of him, Keith held the dazzling blossoms just so the petals could obscure his face. 

In Keith’s hands was a big bouquet of flowers in various shades of purple. Keith wasn't meeting his eyes just as much as Shiro made sure to divert all his focus to the beautiful arrangement. 

Shiro isn’t sure what to be more embarrassed about; his ability to get easily flustered or Keith’s confident approach. The flowers were various shades of purple, mixed in with small patches of white and yellow within their centers. 

Not knowing what to do with his hands, Shiro ended up gently taking the bouquet from Keith’s. “T-this is really nice but… I’m sure I’ll enjoy it more if I know what they all mean.” Shiro tried to speak as clearly as possible, but even he knew Keith heard his voice shaking.

Shiro held out the flowers enough for Keith to stand up next to him; the gardener sneaking a hand out to point at the blooms. “This one- it’s the Iris, do you remember the meaning?”

Keith looked up at him, the violent eyes sparkling. The prince could feel his breath stop in his throat for a second, before answering. “It means I have a message for you.”

Keith moved to finger the petal of the next type of flower, looking back down at the bouquet. “This a purple pansy, they basically mean...I’ve been thinking of you.” His voice gradually grew lower, Shiro leaning in to hear better. The confidence the prince saw earlier was practically nonexistent, and Keith radiated a new warmth as his ears turned crimson. 

“The last ones are Double Asters- they mean I share your feelings.” Finally backing up to face Shiro, the prince could see Keith’s eyes shine brighter against his dark red cheeks. “I...I accept the message you’re sending me, and I’m interested in exploring this with you.”

Shiro couldn’t notice his grip tightening around the bottom of the bunched flowers, although he drew them closer to his face, breathing in the sweet smells they gave off. He hoped that nobody was currently watching the soft exchange, the moment more intimate that Shiro ever expected it to be.

Pulling the flowers away from his nose and mouth, Shiro stretched his hand out to take one of Keith’s to hold in his own. Even with the flush in his face the prince could feel his face splitting in half with a smile, leaving him even more dizzy and chest swelling with excitement. Any words he could think of couldn’t help him say what he was feeling.   

* * *

“Oh my goodness, Pidge, I  _ knew  _ they would look cute together.” Allura was bouncing on her thighs as she knelt next to Pidge in the bushes, before her smile turned into a childish pout. “But Shiro didn’t do anything I suggested.”

“I’m sure he just came up with something on his own. I think it’s much better personally.” Pidge murmured quietly. Allura however, turned to look at the librarian with aghast. “No he didn’t! I KNOW you two, you guys-”

Pidge slapped a hand over the princess’ mouth, ignoring the tongue trying to poke through the fingers. “You’re too loud, and we’re leaving.” Allura eventually gave up in her struggle, thus letting Pidge walk back her into the castle, finally leaving the new couple alone.

**Author's Note:**

> I...did it. I'm already working on the second part, along with a few other things. If there's anything that looks wrong please let me know! Either in the comments or a message is fine. (Forgot to put in the beginning note but yes, the title is from YOI, French for 'The Scent of Flowers', it's one of my favorite tracks. (Does not belong to me?))


End file.
